PRIVATEERS AND PIRATES
Sloughter did not live long to enjoy his triumph over Leisler, and his
death came so suddenly that the anti-Leislerites raised their eyebrows
and whispered "poison," while the Leislerites shrugged their shoulders
and sneered "delirium tremens." Neither faction seemed particularly
reluctant to part with him.
Colonel Benjamin Fletcher, who was sent over from England as the next
Governor, arrived in New York in the summer of 1692. His rule is
chiefly memorable for the founding of Trinity Church and for the
encouragement which he gave to piracy. These strangely differing
activities were both obnoxious to the Dutch burghers, who were almost
as strongly opposed to the Church of England as to that of Rome, and
who suspected the Governor of conniving at the practice of piracy or at
least of closing his eyes to the source of the {166} doubloons of
Spain, the louis d'or of France, and other strange coin which at this
epoch had begun to circulate together with ivory and sandalwood in the
little town at the tip of Manhattan Island.
In one sense Fletcher cannot be held responsible for the existence of
piracy in the colony or on the high seas. The institution was as old
as navigation. Moreover the issuance of letters of marque in the war
with Spain had legalized privateering, which was so near akin to piracy
that it was often hard to distinguish between the two. Even royalty
was not above accepting a share in the questionable spoils of the sea,
as in the well-known case of Queen Elizabeth and the booty which Drake
brought home.
It is easy, therefore, to guess the source of the Eastern rugs, the
carved teakwood furniture, and stuffs from India looms which adorned
the houses of the rich men of New York. On the streets pirate captains
were pointed out as celebrities. One of them, Edward Coates, presented
Madam Fletcher with jewels, silks, and cashmere shawls. Thomas Tew,
another "filibustier," is described by a contemporary as a slight, dark
man about forty years of age, who wore a uniform consisting of a blue
jacket bordered with gold lace and short {167} trousers of white linen
covering his legs to the knee, below which came embroidered stockings.
Around his neck he wore a chain of beaten gold and from his belt
protruded a dagger's hilt set with sparkling jewels.
These picturesque pirates and privateers swaggered about the taverns in
the shadow of the _Stadt-Huys_ or lounged along the wharves at the
harbor. Everywhere they were the center of attention, and their tales
of adventure were listened to with the most eager interest. But these
adventurers in the end pushed things so far that the Government in
England found itself obliged to take vigorous action against them.
James expressly instructed the provincial Governors Andros and Dongan
to suppress "all pirates and sea rovers," for they had become so bold
in their activities along the Spanish Main that lawful trading was
languishing and merchants were in terror.
Many of the adventurers in the West Indies having been originally
engaged in the honest business of _boucanning_, or smoking fish and
meat after the manner of the Carib savages, they and their piratical
comrades were generally known in Europe as "buchaniers" or
"buccaneers." By the Hollanders they were named "_zee rovers_"; by the
{168} French "_flibustiers_," which was only the Frenchman's way of
pronouncing "freebooter." In 1652 Samuel Sewall established in Boston
a free mint, which attracted the pirates to that town, where they could
bring their booty in gold and silver and have it safely dropped into
the melting-pot beyond the reach of either discovery or recovery. In
1687 Sir Robert Holmes was sent with a squadron to the West Indies to
put a stop to the nefarious trade of the freebooters, and in the next
year Nicholson imprisoned at Boston several pirates whose leader was
"one Petersen." These activities on the part of the authorities had
the effect of driving the "_zee rovers_" from the Caribbean to the East
Indies for their enterprises and from Boston to New York for their
market.
Sea commerce at this time had so far outstripped a naval power adequate
to protect it that piracy grew more and more profitable, and many a
respected merchant held private stock in some more than dubious sea
venture. The coast of Madagascar was a meeting place for pirates and
merchantmen, and there Oriental stuffs, gold, and jewels were exchanged
for rum or firearms, and the merchant vessel returned to New York,
where her {169} goods were sold cheaply and no questions were asked.
One ship sailing from New York laden with Jamaica rum, Madeira wine,
and gunpowder returned with a cargo of slaves and East India goods, and
the voyage was reported to have cleared a net profit of thirty thousand
pounds.
The scandal of "adventuring" continued to grow, and in 1695 Peter De la
Noy wrote thus to the home government:
We have a parcell of pirates in these parts which (people) call the Red
Sea men, who often get great booty of Arabian Gold. His Excellency
gives all due encouragement to these men, because they make all due
acknowledgements to him; one Coats, a captain of this honorable order
presented his Excellency with his ship, which his Excellency sold for
eight hundred pounds and every one of the crew made him a suitable
present of Arabian Gold for his protection; one Captain Twoo who is
gone to the Red Sea upon the same errand was before his departure
highly caressed by His Excellency in his coach and six horses, and
presented with a gold watch to engage him to make New York his port at
his return. Twoo retaliated the kindnesse with a present of Jewells;
but I can't learn how much further the bargain proceeded; time must
shew that.... After this all you will perhaps wonder when I tell you
that this man's bell rings twice a day for prayers and that he appears
with a great affectation of piety; but this is true, and it is as true
that it makes him only more ridiculous, not more respected.
{170} Not only were the buccaneers terrorizing the West Indies, the Red
Sea, and the Madagascar coast, but according to the Albany Records of
1696 "pirates in great numbers infest the Hudson River at its mouth and
waylay vessels on their way to Albany, speeding out from covers and
from behind islands and again returning to the rocky shores, or
ascending the mountains along the river to conceal their plunder."
The Government in England now prepared to take vigorous measures. It
desired to fit out an armed force to suppress the buccaneers; but as
all the regular navy was needed in the war with France it was decided
to organize a stock company in which the King, the Duke of Shrewsbury,
Lord Chancellor Somers, the Earls of Bellomont, Oxford, and Romney,
Robert Livingston, and others took shares, for the purpose of fitting
out a privateer vessel to fight the pirates and at the same time to win
some profit for themselves.
The _Adventure-Galley_, carrying thirty guns and manned by over one
hundred sailors, was fitted out and entrusted to the command of William
Kidd, a sea-captain of New York who chanced to be in London at the time
and who was warmly recommended by Robert Livingston to Lord Bellomont,
{171} who had been appointed to succeed Fletcher as Governor of New
York. He was well known as a bold and skillful sailor, and a man of
wealth and repute in New York, and in his marriage certificate he was
called "Captain William Kidd, Gentleman."
The plan finally formed was that Kidd with a privateer furnished with a
letter of marque and a special commission from the King should cruise
about in search of the pirates and capture them. In pursuance of the
scheme Kidd set sail on the _Adventure-Galley_ and reached New York in
the spring of 1696. He set up placards all over the town asking for
recruits, with the result that a motley crew of adventurers rushed to
take ship in this strange new enterprise. At this time Kidd was living
in one of the handsomest houses in New York, on what is now Liberty
Street. Before this, in 1691, he had married the widow of a fellow
sea-captain, a woman of great respectability, by whom he had one
daughter, and he was known far and wide as a solid and trustworthy
merchant.
His venture seemed bulwarked by every guarantee; but even at that epoch
there were not wanting those who predicted strange things for the
_Adventure-Galley_. Few, however, foresaw any events as strange as
those which actually occurred. After {172} cruising along the American
coast without achieving the capture of any pirate ships Kidd set sail
for the Red Sea and reached the coast of Madagascar in the fall of
1697. Here again he found no trace of the corsairs, who had probably
been forewarned of his coming.
Kidd then took on water and provisions and proceeded to the coast of
Madagascar. Still no pirates. Water and provisions were running low,
and the crew threatened mutiny unless they were allowed to take up the
business of piracy on their own account. Kidd thereupon decided to
yield, and the _Adventure-Galley_ began by capturing several vessels
owned by the Great Mogul, as well as some ships sailing under French
colors. In December, 1698, Kidd captured an East India ship named the
_Quedagh Merchant_. The _Adventure-Galley_ being in bad condition,
Kidd set the crew of the _Quedagh Merchant_ on shore, took possession
of the ship, burned his old one, and set sail in his new vessel for
Madagascar.
In spite of their rich spoils, the mutineers remained sullen, and many
deserted. The men's discontent led to an altercation with William
Moore, a gunner, in the course of which Kidd hit him on the head with a
bucket. The resulting {173} injury proved fatal to Moore and
ultimately resulted in disaster for Kidd. After leaving Madagascar the
pirate captain sailed for the West Indies, and it must have been with a
sinking heart that he received the news which awaited him there. The
piracy of the _Adventure-Galley_ was already known in England, and a
committee of Parliament had been appointed to inquire into the whole
affair. Free pardon for acts committed before May 1, 1699, was offered
by royal proclamation to all pirates who would surrender. But an
ominous exception was made in this proclamation of mercy: Avery, a
notorious buccaneer, and William Kidd were not included.
The cause of this exclusion from grace is not far to seek. It was not
that Kidd was a sinner above all others; but that he had involved great
personages from the King down, and that the Tories were making capital
out of the connection between prominent Whig statesmen and the misdeeds
of Captain Kidd. The outlaw now determined on a course which in a
righteous cause might well have been called bold but which under the
circumstances could only be described as brazen. He bought at the
island of Hispaniola a small sloop which he loaded with gold coin, gold
dust, gems, {174} and other booty and, with what remained of his crew,
he set sail for New York. Thus at San Domingo the _Quedagh Merchant_,
with her fifty guns and her valuable cargo, was abandoned. Her fate
has continued a mystery to this day, and from time to time the search
for the lost booty is still suggested and inaugurated by enthusiasts
for adventure or seekers for gold.
When Kidd drew near New York he found that the Earl of Bellomont had
gone to Boston, and he resolved to follow the Governor to
Massachusetts. Much uncertainty surrounds his course at this time. It
is said that he sailed up Long Island Sound, stopped at Gardiner's
Island, and buried a chest of treasure there, that he presented Mrs.
Gardiner with brocades embroidered with gold threads and dropped jewels
into his wine. It is said that he succeeded in reaching his wife by a
letter, asking her to meet him at Block Island. Rumor has it that from
Narragansett Bay he communicated with Bellomont and informed his
lordship that he, William Kidd, was on board a sloop with ten thousand
pounds' worth of goods and that he was entirely guiltless of the piracy
with which he was charged. It is said that Bellomont replied that, if
Kidd could establish his {175} innocence, he might count on the
Governor's protection.[1]
Amid all these rumors there seems good evidence that Kidd landed in
Boston in July and had the effrontery to offer the Governor a gift of
jewels for Lady Bellomont. With the approval of the Council Bellomont
accepted the gift and handed the gems to a trustee as evidence in the
case against Kidd. The Earl of Bellomont, being a man of sterling
integrity, was naturally sensitive as to his apparent complicity in the
Kidd piracy, refused any further parley, and sent the buccaneer to
England to stand his trial there.
Kidd was held in London for several months pending the collection of
evidence against him, and his trial for piracy and the murder of
William Moore finally began at the Old Bailey in the spring of 1701.
From this point we have the original documents of the state trials and
a complete record of the evidence for and against Kidd. Bellomont is
eliminated as a factor, and it becomes a case of the Crown against
Captain William Kidd and a number of others, for murder and piracy upon
the high seas.
{176}
However we may feel as to Kidd's guilt in the matter of piracy, we can
but realize that, according to the standards of modern times, he was
not given a fighting chance for his life. He was detained in Newgate
Prison and denied all counsel until he had pleaded "guilty" or "not
guilty." In spite of all his protests he was brought to trial on the
first indictment for murder, incidentally the least certain of his
offenses. The jury being sworn, the clerk proceeded with the first
indictment for murder and declared that "the jurors of our sovereign
Lord the King do upon their oath present that William Kidd, late of
London, married, not having the fear of God before his eyes; but being
moved and seduced by the Devil ... did make assault in and upon one
William Moore ... and that the aforesaid William Kidd with a certain
wooden bucket, bound with iron hoops, of the value of eight pence,
which he the said William Kidd then and there held in his right hand,
did violently, feloniously, voluntarily, and of his malice aforethought
beat and strike the aforesaid William Moore in and upon the right part
of the head of him, the said William Moore then and there upon the high
sea in the ship aforesaid and within the jurisdiction of England."
{177}
Several sailors testified to the circumstances of the murder, that Kidd
had called the gunner "a lousy dog" and Moore had replied: "If I am a
lousy dog you have made me so. You have brought me to ruin and many
more." At this, Kidd's temper being roused, he struck Moore with the
bucket, and the gunner died the next day as a result of the blow.
Considering the severity of treatment of mutinous sailors permitted to
ships' officers at that time, there is little reason to think that
under ordinary circumstances Kidd would have been adjudged guilty of
murder for a blow struck in hot blood and under provocation; but the
verdict was certain before the trial had begun. The jury after an
hour's consultation brought in a verdict of guilty, and Kidd was
remanded to Newgate Prison to await trial for piracy.
This second trial took place in May, 1701, and included, beside the
Captain, nine other mariners charged with piracy, in that "they
feloniously did steal, take and carry away the said merchant ship
_Quedagh Merchant_ and the apparel and tackle of the same ship of the
value of four hundred pounds of lawful money of England, seventy chests
of opium, besides twenty bales of raw silk, a hundred bales of calico,
two hundred bales of {178} muslins, two hundred and fifty bales of
sugar and three bales of romels."
Kidd's defense was that the ships captured were sailing under French
passes and therefore lawful prizes according to the terms of his
commission. These passes, he said, had been delivered into Bellomont's
hands. But the Court made no effort to procure these passes or to
inquire further into the matter. The jury was out for a short time
only and brought in their verdict against or for the mariners
separately. All but three were found guilty. In addressing them the
Court said: "You have been tried by the laws of the land and convicted
and nothing now remains but that sentence be passed according to the
law. And the sentence of the law is this: You shall be taken from the
place where you are and be carried to the place from whence you came
and from thence to the place of execution and there be severally hanged
by your necks until you be dead. And may the Lord have mercy on your
souls!"
Captain Kidd was hanged at Execution Dock on May 23, 1701. Thus ended
the most famous pirate of the age. His career so impressed the popular
imagination that a host of legends sprang up concerning him and his
treasure ship, while {179} innumerable doleful ballads were written
setting forth his incredible depravity. Yet it is curious to consider
that, had he died a few years earlier, he would have passed away as an
honored citizen of New York and would have been buried with pomp and
circumstance and the usual laudatory funeral oration.
[1] Bellomont was commissioned Governor of Massachusetts and New
Hampshire, as well as of New York.
{180}